Lack of female school leaders spurs study UM professors find family obligations, late entry into administration among factors

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BANGOR – University of Maine assistant professor Dianne Hoff was puzzled about why there are so few female school administrators in the state.

After all, women make up the majority of classroom teachers as well as participants in UM’s educational leadership program where Hoff teaches.

Yet, based on recent numbers in Maine and across the country, women make up only about 18-20 percent of superintendents and high school principals – positions that carry the most responsibility and influence.

So, Hoff and Sidney Mitchell, another UM assistant professor of educational leadership, conducted a two-year survey of more than 400 male and female superintendents, principals, curriculum coordinators and special education directors in Maine.

Now they have issued a draft report identifying some reasons for the dearth of women in upper administrative roles as well as ways to turn the numbers around.

According to their findings contained in “Opening the Club: Overcoming Gender Barriers in School Administration,” factors that could deter women from becoming superintendents or high school principals include: family obligations; late entry into administration; feelings of isolation and an absence of support systems; and prevailing images of masculine leadership.

The issue is about more than gender equity, said Hoff, who plans to present the study at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Francisco next month.

School leaders are drawn from a talented teacher pool which happens to be composed largely of women, she said recently. “If we can’t make these jobs attractive to women, we’ll face a huge shortage of leaders in the state and the country.”

According to the analysis, women across the board said that family responsibilities fell disproportionately on their shoulders and that they were concerned that the long hours and many evenings associated with being superintendent and high school principal would interfere with these obligations.

But some men and women in the study indicated that was a choice women make rather than a barrier.

The findings also indicated that women feel isolated and are without support networks in much higher numbers than men. More men reported feeling “valued and heard,” while women said they didn’t feel as much of a “cultural insider.”

When someone is an insider, or the “go-to person in an organization,” it’s more likely that he or she will be considered for advancement, said Hoff. Being an insider also engenders confidence to pursue a higher position.

Several responses indicated that women tended to delay entry into the administrative pipeline, which also may negatively affect their experience level for advancement. Women were more likely to wait for someone to tap them for an administrative role. They reported holding off pursuing an administrative position until their children were grown and they had all of their administrative certification credits.

“I felt I needed to go into the job completely prepared, knowing as much as I could,” one woman said.

In addition, men more than women said they were willing to move to another school system to take on an administrative job. “Many men were more planful about their careers,” Hoff said. “Women went into teaching in far greater numbers thinking, ‘I’m going to teach forever.'” On average, women taught for 13 years before moving into their first administrative role, compared to eight years among their male counterparts.

Also according to the report, both men and women associated masculine traits – such as toughness and decisiveness – with being a superintendent and high school principal. And search committees, school boards and communities still may perceive that men are more skilled in dealing with disciplinary and financial issues, athletics and facilities maintenance.

One female high school principal said, “I am often asked by parents to talk to the ‘real’ principal.”

The analysis pointed out that some male and female respondents contend gender used to be a barrier, but is no longer.

“I can’t believe you still think this is a problem,” a woman said.

“There is no issue and males get tired of hearing about it. It gets old,” said a man.

But Hoff stressed that the idea behind the report is not to “bash, blame or finger point. It’s [to assess] how we as a profession could look at some practices and long-held beliefs and take some steps to make sure we’re as inclusive as we could be.”

Some survey respondents had indicated that attaining gender equity should continue to be a goal.

To that end, the report proposes, among other things:

. Making the roles of superintendent and high school principal more family-friendly and manageable.

. Including discussions about career paths in teacher preparation programs.

. Rethinking the idea that the high school principalship – still a male bastion – is the only springboard to the superintendency.

These suggestions would benefit male administrators as well, said Hoff.

Dianne Hoff will discuss the study during a public lecture at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, at the University of Maine’s Memorial Union, Bangor Room.